He says the state is simply not seriously about workplace safety, as evidenced by the 78 fatalities in 2011. That's a rate of 5.9 per 100 thousand workers, compared to the nationwide rate of 3.5 per 100 thousand.

Tunnell says the danger is highest in the construction industry, especially for Latino workers.

"These are people's sons and husbands and wives. They're being killed on the job and they're not being compensated at all for it. $125,000 maximum penalty in the state of Kansas? That's ridiculous."

The AFL-CIO's report says that OSHA is so under-funded and under-staffed, it would take the agency a 105 years to inspect each workplace in Kansas once.